College basketball insider reveals availability of Florida guard Kyle Lofton vs UConn

Florida could have senior point guard Kyle Lofton back against Connecticut on Wednesday, as Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports is reporting the Gators playmaker is a game-time decision.

“Florida’s Kyle Lofton (back) is expected to be a game-time decision for today’s game against UConn, per a school spokesman,” tweeted Rothstein. “Averages 9.6 PPG and 4.1 APG.”

Alas, when Lofton has been on the court, he’s been solid for Florida, as Rothstein mentioned. However, a lingering back injury has given the point guard fits, keeping him off the court for some time in 2022.

Earlier this season, freshly-minted Florida coach Todd Golden had nothing but praise for Lofton, speaking to how important he is to what the Gators are trying to accomplish.

“He’s a pretty special player,” Golden said, during preseason camp. “I had a great point guard in San Francisco, Jamaree Bouye, he was one of the best point guards in the country and made my life a lot easier.

“As soon as Kyle got down here, I worked out with him a couple of times and was like, ‘Alright, we got another one. We have another really, really good point guard.’”

Prior to joining the Gators, Lofton was a tremendous talent at St. Bonaventure. Evidently, he’s brought everything he learned there and more with him to Gainesville.

“First and foremost, he’s a great leader,” Golden added, prior to the season. “He commands respect from his teammates but he also does a really good job of holding them accountable in a way that they want to run through a wall for him and he’s just a really, really talented winner as a player.

“He does all the little things that you want as a point guard. He uses his voice, which is really important to me, and like I said, he just has a really great rapport with his teammates. (Senior two-time All-SEC forward) Colin (Castleton) all the way down to the freshmen respect him in a big way and I think for your point guard, that’s what you dream of having. I think that gives us a chance to be really good because of that.”

Alas, it’s been an uneven start to the season for Florida, amassing a record of 6-3 to begin Golden’s tenure. Still, they can make their biggest statement yet with a victory over the 9-0 Huskies, and hopefully Kyle Lofton will be able to lace up for the showdown.